Sunday: Afternoon Prayer

ABOUT TODAY

In the church calendar the long stretch of time between Pentecost and the beginning of Advent is known as ‘Ordinary Time.’ Inasmuch as we have celebrated to birth, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus and the subsequent descent of the Holy Spirit; so this time is often seen as representative of the long ‘Church Age’ when the gospel is preached to all creation.

CALL TO WORSHIP

Reader:
God, come to my assistance.All:Lord, make haste to help me.

Reader:Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. All:As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

AFTERNOON PSALM

Psalm 104:16-35

The trees of the Lord are full of sap,The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,Where the birds make their nests;The stork has her home in the fir trees.The high hills are for the wild goats;The cliffs are a refuge for the rock badgers.

He appointed the moon for seasons;The sun knows its going down.You make darkness, and it is night,In which all the beasts of the forest creep about.The young lions roar after their prey,And seek their food from God.When the sun rises, they gather togetherAnd lie down in their dens.Man goes out to his workAnd to his labor until the evening.

O Lord, how manifold are Your works!In wisdom You have made them all.The earth is full of Your possessions—This great and wide sea,In which are innumerable teeming things,Living things both small and great.There the ships sail about;There is that LeviathanWhich You have made to play there.

These all wait for You,That You may give them their food in due season.What You give them they gather in;You open Your hand, they are filled with good.You hide Your face, they are troubled;You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;And You renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the Lord endure forever;May the Lord rejoice in His works.He looks on the earth, and it trembles;He touches the hills, and they smoke.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.May my meditation be sweet to Him;I will be glad in the Lord.May sinners be consumed from the earth,And the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!Praise the Lord!

All:Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

WORSHIP (Optional)

All:
(A short time of worship and thanksgiving, led or spontaneous. Alternatively a devotional song may be played and listened to.)

OLD TESTAMENT READING

Zechariah 12:1-9

The Lord Will Give Salvation

The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus declares the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him:“Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah.On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.On that day, declares the Lord, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.’

“On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem.

“And the Lord will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah.On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, going before them.And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Reader:The Word of the Lord.All:Thanks be to God.

Pause for Reflection……

PRAYER

(Take a moment to bring to God any issues that have arisen during the morning. You may like to end with the following prayer…)

Reader:Lord Jesus, we thank you for another morning in Your House,
For the Word as pronounced to your people,
For the Worship as presented by your people,
For the Witness as proclaimed through your people,
And for the gathering of your Bride all over the world.
We ask your blessings upon the rest of this day,
May we enjoy Sabbath rest, renewed strength and a firmer hope,
As we run the race and stretch forth towards the prize. Amen

GRACE(Optional)

Lord God, we thank you for your gift to us of this food;
Produce of earth, sky, many living beings, and much hard work.

May we eat with prayerfulness, gratitude and moderation;
With renewed minds and spirit-controlled appetites.

May we eat with compassion for those who hunger today,
And in such a way that reduces the suffering of all creatures;
Healing and preserving our precious planet.

Use this food to strengthen our bodies, revive our spirits,
Nurture our family and nourish our resolve;
That we may continue to serve all that lives with all our life. Amen